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Mth 173
Your 'question form' report has been received. Scroll down through the document to see any comments I might have inserted, and my final comment at the end.
** Question Form_labelMessages **
definitions
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The math teachers I have had over the years were a little loose with their terminology. I was just wanting to know the proper definition, and differences between these three words:
equation
formula
function
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An equation is a mathematical statement of equality. It is of the form
left side = right side
where 'left side' and 'right side' refer to mathematical expressions. An example: 5 ( x - 3) = 7 ( 2x + 9).
A formula is a way of computing some quantity in terms of other specified quantities (for example, A = pi r^2 for the area of a circle).
A function is a relation between an independent variable and a dependent variable, with the property that for any value of the independent variable there is one and only one associated value for the dependent variable. What this means is that if I ask you what the value of the function is for, say, x = 3, you will give me one, and only one, correct answer. For a certain function the answer might be 19. It cannot be, say, '19 or maybe 15'.
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